I absolutely loved this book. I previously read
Billie Letts' previous book Where the Heart is, which led me to watch the DVD.
Both were excellent so I looked into what else she might have written, not
really expecting it to be as gripping - but to my surprise and delight I enjoyed
the Honk and Holler even more than Where the Heart is and I would love it to be
made into a film.
Official Blurb:
Caney Paxton wanted his cafe to have the biggest and
brightest sign in Eastern Oklahoma - the "opening soon" part was supposed to be
just a removable, painted notice. But a fateful misunderstanding gave Caney the
flashiest joke in the entire state. Twelve years later, the once-busy highway is
dead, the joke is old, and the sign is as worn as Caney, who hasn't ventured
outside the diner since it opened. Then on a blustery December day, a 30ish Crow
woman blows in with a half-dead three-legged dog in her arms and a long-buried
secret on her mind. Hiring on as a carhop, Vena Takes Horse is soon shaking up
business, the locals, and Caney's heart...as she teaches them all about
generosity of spirit, love, and the possibility of promise - just like the sign
says.
The book is set at Christmas 1985. Caney, a
wheel-chair bound Vietnam vet who is riddled with guilt and pain has run the
Honk and Holler Diner for twelve years with four times married waitress Mollie
O. She is the salt of the earth, constantly worrying herself sick about her
beloved would-be-actress daughter. Things don’t look too good for the prospects
of the diner as business has slumped over the years. Then along come the
beautiful young Crow Indian drifter Vena Takes Horse and shortly after,
Vietnamese refugee Bui Kanh, a cook and handyman who barely speaks English and
who, like Vena Takes Horse, also hides a guilty secret. Life at the Diner
begins to get interesting…
This book is just brimming with wonderful,
interesting, likeable, complex characters you soon become engrossed in. I was
wrapped up in their individual stories and how they unfolded - their pain, joy,
fears and hope.
I loved the pathos, the drama, the suspense, the
humour and the feel good factor. It made me laugh out loud and bought a tear to
my eyes in places.
It was a rich, relaxing, easy going, page-turning
and very entertaining book which I really didn’t want to end. It was heart
warming and lovely.
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